If you pick up any fitness magazine giving advice on how to build muscle fast one of the first things you will notice is the frequency of adverts for pre-workout supplements. Today we are going to look at how necessary these products actually are, to help you to determine whether they are worth your money.
If muscle building magazines are to be believed, then it's hard to get any results in the gym unless you are packing the latest in pre-workout stimulants. Of course, this is more marketing hype than actual fact.
The fitness industry has come a long way since the days of classic bodybuilding, of course. However, the basic principles of getting bigger have remained exactly the same.
There is a big risk of getting lost when it comes to supplements. Every product claims to yield life changing results, or to be the best in it's class. This often leads most people down a path of trying every product and hoping for the best.
When you take a look at the actual job of a pre-workout supplement, some of that hype clears instantly.
A pre-workout supplement usually has one job and one job only. It is designed to help you get pumped up for your forthcoming workout. That's it, despite all of the big claims it might make on the packaging.
How are you supposed to know which one is the best with all of the choices available to you?
In order to stop yourself getting sucked in by the hype of every 'next big thing' to hit the supplement market you simply need to learn the basic ingredients and you'll know what to look for the next time you see a product making bold statements about it's capabilities.
There are two ingredients which appear in most pre-workout products today. Those are caffeine and nitric oxide boosters. They're designed to give you a quick spike of energy which, if applied to a gym session, could increase your ability to lift a heavier weight and therefore lead to more hypertrophy.
One reason there is so much hype surrounding this type of supplement is that the market can become a little bit 'hit and miss' for most gym users. What works for one individual won't necessarily work for another, because you probably have your own tolerance level to most of the ingredients in them, like caffeine, through your daily diet. This is often why people switch between different products every month in a bid to find one which continuously works for them.
Our body adapts, of course, so you generally have to change pre-workout supplement every three months otherwise you will notice it has less impact each time you take it. Since the discovery of creatine monohydrate products in the late 1980's, the bodybuilding industry has been set on finding the next big breakthrough. Pre-workout supplements are not 100% necessary in order to get results. If you want to know how to build muscle, you can certainly do it without taking one of these before you hit the gym.
If muscle building magazines are to be believed, then it's hard to get any results in the gym unless you are packing the latest in pre-workout stimulants. Of course, this is more marketing hype than actual fact.
The fitness industry has come a long way since the days of classic bodybuilding, of course. However, the basic principles of getting bigger have remained exactly the same.
There is a big risk of getting lost when it comes to supplements. Every product claims to yield life changing results, or to be the best in it's class. This often leads most people down a path of trying every product and hoping for the best.
When you take a look at the actual job of a pre-workout supplement, some of that hype clears instantly.
A pre-workout supplement usually has one job and one job only. It is designed to help you get pumped up for your forthcoming workout. That's it, despite all of the big claims it might make on the packaging.
How are you supposed to know which one is the best with all of the choices available to you?
In order to stop yourself getting sucked in by the hype of every 'next big thing' to hit the supplement market you simply need to learn the basic ingredients and you'll know what to look for the next time you see a product making bold statements about it's capabilities.
There are two ingredients which appear in most pre-workout products today. Those are caffeine and nitric oxide boosters. They're designed to give you a quick spike of energy which, if applied to a gym session, could increase your ability to lift a heavier weight and therefore lead to more hypertrophy.
One reason there is so much hype surrounding this type of supplement is that the market can become a little bit 'hit and miss' for most gym users. What works for one individual won't necessarily work for another, because you probably have your own tolerance level to most of the ingredients in them, like caffeine, through your daily diet. This is often why people switch between different products every month in a bid to find one which continuously works for them.
Our body adapts, of course, so you generally have to change pre-workout supplement every three months otherwise you will notice it has less impact each time you take it. Since the discovery of creatine monohydrate products in the late 1980's, the bodybuilding industry has been set on finding the next big breakthrough. Pre-workout supplements are not 100% necessary in order to get results. If you want to know how to build muscle, you can certainly do it without taking one of these before you hit the gym.
About the Author:
Creator: Russ Howe PTI is a popular personal trainer. See how to build muscle with our new video guide showing the five steps to a more powerful body and creatine.
